Chicago teachers strike ends | School begins Wednesday

School is back in session. The Chicago Teachers Union has voted to end a strike that lasted seven full school days, and put urban education and the national reform movement under the microscope. We'll have a full post-mortem for you soon, but I have to say that watching CTU president Karen Lewis at her press conference just now, she seemed emboldened by the process. And though you can put me in the camp of people who think she's not the best spokesperson for the teachers—her combative side doesn't seem to have an off switch—her relief and empathy seemed genuine when she talked about how glad teachers feel to be seeing their students again. It's worth noting that 98 percent of teachers voted to end the strike.

And we're willing to bet that all Chicago Public Schools parents will be glad and relieved to know their kids will be headed back to school, first thing Wednesday morning.